2013 Wax Year in Review - A Retrospective of the Top Trends, Vendors, and Scents of the Year

Good morrow my waxy friends! It’s been a long time, and I have missed you all dearly. These past few months have been more crazy than I ever could have anticipated, from a close family member falling ill, to my own health scare and having my first (and hopefully last!) surgery ever, to FINALLY graduating from college! Sometimes when life happens, other things just have to take a backseat. I can’t promise that I will be blogging regularly again because I don’t want you all to be disappointed when I don’t. So let’s just enjoy the time we have together here now, shall we?! =D

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It’s also been a crazy year in the wax world too, hasn’t it? I started getting into wax around late summer/early fall of 2012, and comparing the way things are now to the way things were back then, it’s definitely a different environment. This blog entry is just my own reflections on the general happenings in the wax community in 2013, so please remember that these are just my opinions and yours may vary vastly from my own. I’d love to hear what you think were the significant happenings this year in the wax world too!

WAX COMMUNITY TRENDS IN 2013

1. Perhaps the most significant and obvious (or maybe not-so-obvious) event of the year is the massive expansion of the wax community. New members are joining us every day, each one falling as head over heels as the rest of us with the vast array of scents available from our beloved online wax vendors. Several FB wax groups are up to over 1k members and beyond. I wonder if as many people will find us in the coming year! I am looking forward to finding out.

2. With the ever-expanding wax world, there is also an ever-expanding want for more wax. It is now very difficult to place orders with the more popular vendors, and sometimes even with the not-so-popular ones. Vendors that used to be open all the time like LSC and CFTKR, now are only open at certain times and with a limited amount of stock. Vendors like SMT and RG that even back in the day had to close up shop every so often now have several months long TATs due to the increasing demand for their wax. There was even one vendor whose TAT was reaching the 8 month point that had to close down permanently because there was no conceivable way they could have completed the rest of the orders in a reasonable time frame. Now, please know that I’m not complaining. I will forever order from my favorite vendors, whether their TAT is months long or not. There’s nothing quite as exciting as opening up a long-awaited wax package!

3. Another significant trend of 2013 seems to be the flourishing of Facebook. Back when I started getting into wax, YouTube was where it was at. Sure, there were still several Facebook groups back then but they really took off in 2013. I cannot think of any vendors that don’t have at least a Facebook page, and the vast majority have Facebook groups as well. There are a HUGE amount of non-vendor wax groups on FB also, groups just for chatting or groups dedicated solely to swapping or destashing. I’m not particularly active on the FB groups myself but they are basically the ultimate source for all the goings-on in the wax world today. Not much seems to happen on YT anymore as FB seems to be where the action is. Don’t get me wrong, I still love watching my fav YT wax sistas, but the new wax videos seem to be coming at a slower and slower pace these days.

4.  Also with the expansion of the wax community came a significant influx of new vendors, many of whom are fellow wax addicts themselves. These new vendors are giving some of our tried and true vendors a run for their money for sure!  While no new vendors of 2013 have managed to nab a spot in my top favorite vendors yet, most of the new kids on the block seem very interested in the continuing improvement of their products. I see big things happening for several new vendors next year. In fact, some of the new vendors already have larger fan followings on FB that some vendors that have been around for much longer. I look forward to seeing what new vendors and products pop up in the coming year.

5. Perhaps the biggest trend in the wax world product-wise, is the growing popularity of bulk wax products such as pies, loaves and scoopables. Gone are the days where one scallop or one scent shot will suffice. We want our favorite scents and we want them in mass quantities! Give me scoopables or give me death! Why buy a 4-pack when you can buy a whole pound? You get the idea. These large quantities are also helpful in situations where a vendor is only open every so often and you can be sure to have enough of a scent to last you until the next opening.  I know I’m super glad to have my giant pie of RG’s Monster Cookie Fluff Puffs there so I never have to worry about running out until they open again.

6.  The most heartwarming trend I’ve seen this year is the wax community coming together in times of need for our fellow wax addicts. Sadly, the wax community has been hit with a few major tragedies this year, the most recent of which being a very well-loved member losing her life over the Christmas holiday (rest in peace sweet Jill). But through these tragedies, we will always rise up, by organizing fundraisers and offering our help to people in need in whatever ways we can. There have been several fundraisers this year that have raised several thousands of dollars for those affected by those tragedies and for several different charity organizations as well. Heck, when one of our favorite vendors fell ill this year we were able to pull together and raise enough money to send her days worth of gifts, from flowers to sweets to gift cards and more! With all the drama aside, the wax world can really be an amazing place to not only find people to share our love for wax with, but to share our lives with as well. The wax community is nothing short of a family and I hope we continue to focus on the positive in the coming year.

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Now on to the fun part, the top scents of the year!! Now, if I went with the overall most popular scents ever, it would be the obvious: zucchini bread, pink sugar, vanilla bean noel, marshmallow, serendipity, fruit loops, pumpkin, etc. What I really want to focus on are the new-ish scents that took the wax world by storm this year, the ones that really have stood out to me as the ultimate new kids on the block.

2013 SCENTS OF THE YEAR

1. Twinkies - Without a doubt, this is the #1 scent that popped into my head when thinking about what the most popular scents for the year were. Every vendor has a Twinkies scent along with about 80 billion different Twinkies blends. And for the RTS vendors, Twinkies scents are generally the first ones to sell out, every time. There’s just something about the sweet, cake-y scent that us wax fiends can’t get enough of!

2. Strawberry Satsuma - As far as blends go, this is by far the winner of the year. I am not 100% sure, but I believe this blend was concocted by a fan on the SMT page? Or maybe the VDC page? Either way, it wasn’t long before nearly every vendor started carrying this scent blend on their sites as well. Personally, I’m not the hugest fan of this blend (though I do like RG’s and VDC’s versions) but those who do love it swear that it resembles the scent of Starburst candies.

3. Blonde Moment - This is another scent that is having a moment in the spotlight this year. It seems to have become a staple in most vendors’ repertoires as of late, and us waxies can’t seem to get enough of this fruity, slightly grape-y, and energetic blend. Again, not one of my favorites but I’ve heard that it blends really well with pretty much anything, even zucchini bread.

4. Donut scents - Although there are many different types of donut scents out there, I wanted to include them all together because donut scents in general are really having a moment this year. From CFTKR’s jelly donut blends extravaganza, to RG’s cinnamon-based Dunk My Donut scent to LSC’s spicy, powdered sugar Beignets blend, we wax addicts are always eager to add more donut scents to our collections.

5.  Honeydew Cotton Candy - This is another blend that I believe came to life on the SMT group page. This blend of sweet cotton candy with the fresh scent of honeydew is damn near perfection. Whoever created this blend, I thank you, because my life would not have been the same without it. I am glad to see more and more vendors carrying this blend these days.

6. Circus Concession/Summer Boardwalk - Fair and circus scents definitely saw a rise in popularity this year with the 2nd year of BBW releasing it’s ever popular Summer Boardwalk candle. Each vendor seems to have a bit of a different version of this scent. Some vendors carry the Summer Boardwalk dupe stock oil or the Circus Concession stock oil while others blend it themselves. Either way, the blends generally consist of most or all of the following scents: caramel apple, caramel corn, funnel cake and cotton candy. And they are delicious.

7. Vanilla Butter Fudge - VBF was definitely having it’s 15 minutes of fame more towards the beginning of the year, and though you don’t hear about it as much anymore, I still wanted to include it in this list. With a name like “fudge” you’d expect there to be some chocolate in this scent, but that isn’t the case. It is just a beautiful, rich vanilla scent with a heavy buttery undertone. It’s very versatile and is a great blender!

8.  Pumpkin Pecan Waffles and Blueberry Pumpkin Patch - I am grouping these two scents together because they are both popular BBW fall scents that came out this year. Everyone about damn near lost their minds when these scents were duped by the popular fragrance oil companies. ALL PUMPKIN ALL THE TIME. While I don’t know if these scents will stand the test of time since they are seasonal blends, I do know that they had a huge fan base this fall. Only time will tell what the next “hot” pumpkin blends will be.

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This last section was definitely the one I thought long and hard about, and in the end, I couldn’t just pick one. This category is VERY SUBJECTIVE, so please do not get mad at me if I didn’t pick one of your favorite vendors. It doesn’t mean that I don’t like them or that I don’t think they are awesome. I picked these two vendors by gauging not only how effectively they do business, but also by how popular they are in the wax community. I wanted to recognize the vendors that have gone above and beyond the normal craft or hobby business, the ones that have turned into true powerhouses of the wax world. So, without further ado…

2013 VENDOR OF THE YEAR (it’s a tie!)

Rosegirls - Rosegirls has officially earned itself a spot as the number one elite vendor in the wax community. Whether you like Rosegirls or not, you have to admit that there is not one vendor’s wax that is more sought after than RG - and for good reason. Their wax is absolutely gorgeous. Their blends are unique and well thought out. Their scents are to die for. Their wax throws like crazy. The custom blending options are endless. The excitement in the wax community prior to an RG opening is an energy that nothing else in the wax world can rival. I could go on and on, but you catch my drift. RG has been so successful over the past year that they were able to open a retail store with their goods! Just amazing. Congratulations to Jenny and Kathy for building not only a business, but the most highly recognizable brand in the wax world today. I cannot wait to see what is on the horizon for Rosegirls. I know it will be big.

and

Front Porch - Front Porch has turned into the most accessible and most well-stocked company in the business. When I first entered the wax community last year, it was nearly impossible to get my hands on FP products. While the rest of the wax world seems to be struggling to keep products in stock, FP just keeps GROWING their stock day in and day out. I can safely say they are the absolute most successful RTS company in the wax world. There is never a day now where you can’t go onto the FP website and have hundreds of options of wax products to choose from. From grubbies to loaves to scoopables to chunks top candles, they have it all. And not only do they have every product under the sun, their product is fantastic. One ounce of FP wax throws better than most wax I’ve tried. The scent blends are endless. And like RG, with their massive success this year, they were able to open a retail storefront too! Congrats to Angie and team for building such a strong company that runs like a well-oiled machine. I can’t wait to see what 2014 brings!

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And that, my friends, is what stood out in 2013 in the wax world to me. I’d love to hear what were significant moments, products and vendors for you this year! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and I hope you have a great new year <3 I have one more post I’d like to do before year end so stay tuned =)

Some Highlights from my Recent Orders

Hello my lovely readers and happy Monday! I hope you all are doing well. My life is pretty boring these days, and consists mainly of work and school, more work and more school which sadly means that I haven't been able to keep up with blogging as I had hoped I would have this summer.

However, the orders have been coming in steadily over the past few months and I wanted to share with you some of the highlights of these orders. I brought a list of some of my new favorites from my recent wax orders into work today to type out during my down time. Unfortunately, there won't be any pictures today but my blog was looking pretty lonely these days so I figured anything new would be better than staring at the same old video that has been up for a few weeks! 

I have found my wax preferences shifting significantly lately. While I am still loving the fruity scents that I couldn't get enough of this spring, I find myself now reaching more for deep and rich bakery scents over my lighter scents. Usually I'm one season ahead in terms of my scent preferences though I don't seem to want to melt my spicy fall scents quite yet. But anything caramel, chocolate, cake or cookie scented? Sign this girl up! The shocker among all shockers these days seems to be the fact that I'm actually tolerating bread scents much more, and *gasp* even enjoying them! I'm really into Amish Friendship Bread and Ice Cream Scoop Bread scents, and yes, even the occasional Zucchini Bread scent. I still have a violent negative reaction to most ZB scents but I am tolerating the sweet and creamy ones quite well these days. I don't know what's gotten into me lately but I'm just going with the flow and stocking up on lots of bakery and bready scents. 

And now, without any specific order, here are the highlights from my wax hauls over the past few months! I hope you all enjoy and maybe even find a new favorite amongst this mess of randomness!

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Sugar and Spice Gourmet Soy

Marshmallow Jelly Donuts - Sugar and Spice has quickly been climbing to the top of my favorite vendors list. Her stuff is always amazingly strong, for the most part her scents are awesome and since it is an RTS company the TAT is lightning fast. This was a scent that I originally got as a freebie in one of my orders and I loved it so much that I bought a 1 lb. bag of brittle in it during her last opening. It is your typical jelly donut scent that a lot of vendors carry, heavy on the berry jelly with a hint of a fried dough note. But with the addition of marshmallow in this blend, it takes it to a whole new level of awesome. I'm a sucker for a good marshmallow scent and this is definitely a good one. Winner winner! It's just pure creamy berry bakery goodness.

Creme Brulee Zucchini Cupcake - When I had originally ordered this scent, it was listed on the site as "Creme Brulee Cupcake" without the zucchini note. When I received my 1 lb. bag of this, I was a bit disappointed to see the zucchini note listed but upon first sniff of this scent, I was in love! Sugar and Spice was probably the first ZB scent that I actually liked as it is one of the most mellow and creamy zucchini scents I've smelled thus far. It's definitely still mainly a creme brulee scent but the little hint of breadiness helps this from becoming too sweet. Awesome blend!

Chocolate Butter Brickle Croissant - I have been insanely in love with both chocolate and butter brickle scents as of late and the two together in this blend is a home run! The chocolate croissant is a very unique chocolate bakery scent; it has a strong, almost boozy chocolate note mixed with a slightly buttery crust note. Blended with the butter brickle oil, it becomes this delicious confectionary delight that, yes, I have contemplated tasting because it smells so fantastic. I am going to request that she makes this in big bags of brittle next time she opens up her shop in the fall. 

Lollipop Fluff Cake - I am head over heels for Sugar and Spice's Lollipops scent. If you've never smelled it before, you absolutely must. It is certainly a nostalgic scent that takes me back to my childhood as it kind of smells like those scented dolls I loved as a kid. It's basically the most realistic fruity candy scent ever. A few other vendors have this scent as well, but I wish more vendors would carry it because I would buy it from everyone. Lollipop Fluff Cake is a blend of Lollipop, marshmallow and cake fragrance oils. The lollipop definitely takes center stage in this blend but the marshmallow and cake notes amp up the sweetness and add the slightest hint of a bakery undertone. It is the ultimate sweet scent in every way. This is another one I'll be requesting in 1 lb. bags of brittle so I'll never be without it. 

Peanut Butter Marshmallows - I've tried a few peanut butter scents from other vendors and they were all pretty underwhelming. I don't even really like peanut butter that much in real life, so when I saw this as a freebie in one of my orders, I figured I wouldn't like it before even opening the lid of the scent shot. However, it was true love upon first sniff. It is such a realistic peanut butter scent with the added creamy goodness from the marshmallow. So amazing! I'm looking forward to trying out different blends with this scent as well. I think it would be really fantastic blended with her Jelly Donuts scent! 

Haley's Heavenly Scents

Raspberry Zinger - Haley's is another vendor I've really been loving lately. If you are in the HHS group on Facebook, you've probably seen me raving about this scent. Raspberry Zinger is a raspberry coconut cake scent, supposedly duping the now defunct (?) Hostess Raspberry Zinger cakes. I've seen this scent at several other vendors, and I don't know if HHS uses a different oil than all the others or just a higher concentration of the oil, but their version of this scent is absolutely phenomenal. Take any other raspberry coconut scent you've smelled before, amp it up 10 times, and you've got HHS Raspberry Zinger. During their recent 4th of July sale (wax ban be damned), I ordered a big bag of Raspberry Zinger on it's own and did two blends with the scent as well! I can't wait!

Strawberry Ice Cream Scoop Dough Bread - Although CFTKR will always have my favorite strawberry scent, HHS is nearing in at a close second these days. It's a strong, true strawberry scent with a slight tartness to it that adds a realistic aspect to the otherwise super sweet scent. Another recent favorite scent, as I mentioned above, is Ice Cream Scoop Bread scents. I'm OBSESSED with ice cream scents anyways so ICSB is an obvious win-win situation for me. The Ice Cream Scoop Bread note blends flawlessly with their strawberry oil to create one of the best strawberry bread scents I've come across. 

Lemon Ice Cream Cake - All of HHS' lemon blends are flawless, really. If you watched my 45 minute long melted reviews video, you know I have a deep affection for her Iced Lemon Cookies scent as well. Lemon Ice Cream Cake is a new discovery in a recent order. It is a blend of lemon poppyseed and cake batter ice cream. So. Amazing. It's a bakery lemon scent (with no touch of the astringent, cleaner lemon that sometimes  pops up in lemon pound cake scents) with the added creaminess from the ice cream scent. I actually blended this scent with Raspberry Zinger in my recent order and I can't wait to see how that turns out! 

Candles from the Keeping Room

The "Jelly Donut" family - It's no secret that CFTKR's Jelly Donut scent is one of my favorite fragrances of all time. Recently, Carol has started coming up with these amazing Jelly Donut blends that she has been sending out as testers in people's orders. The first blend to be officially released was Jelly Filled Sugar Cookie, and you better believe I got myself a bag the day it came out! Other blends that she's done lately were Jelly Filled Zucchini Donut and Jelly Filled Flapjacks, both incredible blends. In fact, I melted the Jelly Filled Zucchini Donut sample that Carol had sent yesterday and I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY at how phenomenal it was. She's working on some other jelly donut blends as well that I'm super excited to try! In fact, Carol has been coming out with a TON of new scents lately that I can't wait to get my grubby little hands on.

Sugar Cookie and Flapjacks -  I had a bag of this earlier this year and for some reason, I ended up selling in a destash. With my recent bakery obsession, I ended up regretting destashing it and bought myself another bag. Man oh MAN, I don't know how I could have ever let this bad boy go. At the very peak of my love for bakery is my love for sugar cookie scents. I just can't have enough cookie scents, I need them all! Carol's sugar cookie oil is one of the best, it is very, very sweet yet crunchy at the same time. Blended with her dough-y flapjacks scent (that, by the way, has the slightest hint of maple syrup) is one of the best bakery scents I have found thus far. Front Porch has apparently come out with a Sugar Cookie/Hotcakes blend recently and I can't wait to try that one as well to compare and contrast the two.

Fruit Cocktail - So even in the throes of my bakery-palooza, I've managed to find a new favorite fruity scent! Fruit Cocktail is a blend of peach, pears and cherries, just like the sweet canned fruit cocktail that is served in elementary school and at hospitals. It smells EXACTLY like opening a can of fruit cocktail, right down to the sweet syrup in which the fruit is suspended. Yes, it is a bit of an artificial fruit smell with that cherry note thrown in there but it is fabulous. This is what I wanted all those generic "fruit slices" scents to smell like. Luckily for my nose, I don't smell any citrus notes in here. Just the super sweet scent of cherries, pears and peaches. I'm so glad I stumbled across this scent. 

"Strawberry" anything - As I mentioned above, Carol has the best strawberry scent in the business. It's a true strawberry that is sweet yet fresh all at the same time. All the strawberry blends are awesome as well, like Strawberry Noel, Strawberry Flapjacks, Strawberry Cookie, Pink Sugared Strawberry, and a new favorite, Strawberry Dew (strawberry mixed with Mountain Dew). Her strawberry generally sell out pretty quickly when they're listed, so you have to be fast! They're like Pokemon, you've gotta catch them all! Haha I think that's the first time I've ever made a Pokemon reference in my life. Anyway, moving right along...

Victoria's Designer Creations

Cotton Candy Milkshake - I believe I've reviewed this scent on my blog before but I recently received a loaf of this scent (my very first loaf ever!) and it's so darn good that it's worth mentioning again. This is probably one of the best, if not the very best, cotton candy scent I've ever smelled. It has an extra level of sweet, sugary goodness while still retaining that "cotton candy" scent that we've all grown accustomed to, whether it's from cotton candy flavored bubble gum or cotton candy scented body spray in the 90's. Best thing about this particular cotton candy scent is how unbelievably strong it is! Cotton candy scents are notoriously light, but not this one. I'm so glad I have a loaf in this scent because I will be melting this one in large quantities for sure.

Sniff My Tarts

Sugar Cookie Brulee/Deep Fried Ice Cream - This was a combo that I did in a scent shot in my second SMT custom order. It's so amazing that I'll probably never use it because I only have one scent shot in it! I'm  kicking myself for not ordering this blend in chunks. This is the first time I've ever had the pleasure of smelling a Sugar Cookie Brulee scent but it certainly will not be my last. Sugar Cookie Brulee is an amazing, rich bakery scent that is mainly the "brulee" note of burnt sugar with a slight undertone of cookie crunchiness. Brilliant! I wish more vendors would carry this scent. And of course, blended with the deep fried ice cream scent it becomes even more amazing! Maybe one day I'll win a custom lot and be able to create this blend myself again. My second custom SMT had more duds in it than the first but this was definitely the standout of everything that I ordered. 

Butter Brickle/Cotton Candy - Surprise, surprise a butter brickle and cotton candy blend! Shocking, I know. Though I'm not the hugest fan of the way they are doing chunks now (in individual molds as opposed to doing large batches and cutting them into chunks), the Butter Brickle/Cotton Candy blend that I received in my order really knocked it out of the park. The cotton candy was the overpour and the butter brickle was the chunks, so it was definitely a bit heavier on the cotton candy but still a really nice blend of the two. I don't know what it is about butter brickle and cotton candy, but they are just so darn fantastic together! By the way, if you've never smelled a butter brickle scent before, it's kind of like a super sweet candied caramel fragrance. Really rich and delicious smelling! 

The Bathing Garden

Peppermint Bubbles - Though TBG hasn't really been knocking it out of the park for me lately, this blend is a new favorite among all the TBG scents I've ever tried. It almost has a frosty, cool quality to it that makes it stand out from all the other peppermint scents in my stash. It's a very sweet peppermint scent, blended with marshmallow, whipped cream and meringue. The sweet, fluffy notes in this scent give it an almost bakery-like quality without having it actually smell like a typical bakery scent. That probably makes no sense, but you'll just have to take my word for it. If sharp peppermint scents scare you, definitely give this one a try! I bet this scent would be amazing in a scrub as well.

Rosegirls

Taste the Rainbow - This scent was a surprise favorite for me. Though I didn't actually order it, I stumbled across a chunk of it in an RR and I knew I had to grab it. I've smelled one other Skittles inspired scent before from Dutch/Crabby Candle, and while that one is really nice, this one is like Skittles on steroids. I was weary about this blend when it was introduced to the RG lineup in April because it contains chunks of both satsuma and grape, two of my arch nemesis fragrances in the wax wax world. However, the grape and satsuma scents blended with key lime chunks and the Chicks Dig It overpour creates this completely awesome fruity blend that really smells like a bag of Skittles. On steroids.

Key Lime Swizzle Sticks - Rosegirls has the absolute best Key Lime Pie scent, bar none. It's such a realistic key lime scent, right down to the slight graham cracker crust note. I'm super picky about my lime scents but they're always a major win from RG. Their swizzle sticks scent is described as a sugary sweet glaze, which to me, smells a little bit like the above mentioned lollipop scent from other vendors. Together, the blend is flawless. I'm almost wishing I would have ordered a large pie in this scent instead of just a regular sized bag. But hey, now I have more room in my stash to try other key lime blends. And try them I will!

Pomegranate Watermelon Slush - This was another new scent that I got out of an RR that moved right up to the top of my favorites list. Pomegranate scents seem to be all the rage these days and this one is one of the best I've smelled thus far. The tart, berry-like pomegranate scent combines effortlessly with the super sweet watermelon slush scent to create a divine summer drink blend. I saw on one of my wax groups somewhere that someone wanted to pour some booze into this scent and drink it, and I wholeheartedly agree! Perfection.

Sweet Lemon Confection/Swizzle Sticks/Pomegranate (custom blend) - Someone in one of my wax groups did this blend and I had to borrow the idea and make a medium pie in it for myself. I did the pomegranate as the overpour which was an ideal decision because this scent smells like the absolute best pomegranate lemonade you'd ever taste in your life. Yes, it smells like the way it would taste. Thank you to whoever suggested this blend because my pomegranate-loving self would never have been the same without it!

Strawberry Jam/Sweet Lemon Confection/Monster Cookie (custom blend) - This was another custom blend that turned out even better than expected. First off, Rosegirls Strawberry Jam scent is one of the best out there, probably tied in second place with HHS' strawberry scent. When strawberry jam is blended here with the lemon bakery note and RG's famous Monster Cookie, it's truly a match made in heaven. This was actually a blend that Dana and I created to split a large pie in, and I'm so glad I have half a pie in this one because it's SO FREAKING AWESOME! I'm also a huge fan of RG's Strawberry Lemon Custard scent but I think I like this one a bit better because of the added bakery note here. As a rule of thumb, you can't really go wrong with any blends containing Strawberry Jam, Sweet Lemon Confection or Monster Cookie because they're all really top notch.

Pics, Petals and Scents

Vanilla Buttercream Waffle Cone - I recently got a long awaited (3+ months) custom order in from PPS, and while I generally liked everything in my order, the real standout of the whole lot was a freebie that she sent in Vanilla Buttercream Waffle Cone! I'm feeling a little burnt out on descriptions right now but I will say that the buttercream is the stronger note in this blend, but the waffle cone isn't far behind. Usually buttercream and waffle cone scents are very light but in this scent, they are strong as can be! Awesome, awesome, awesome!

Up the Creek Scents

Coco Mango/Pomegranate/Peach (custom blend) - Up the Creek is a new-ish vendor that has been all the rage in my Facebook groups lately. Their stuff is incredibly strong, well blended, and best of all - super inexpensive! I believe the 3 bags of custom blended brittle cost me somewhere in the ballpark of $15. Not to shabby! Anyways, this was obviously a custom blend of mine that really turned out well. I did make this blend before my aversion to peach scents began, but luckily I mostly smell the sweet Coco Mango scent blended with the tart pomegranate. I don't know what ever possessed me to make this blend, I mean, you've got to admit that it's kind of random, but these notes work really well together to create a really unique and awesome tropical fruity blend.

Pink Sugar/Sweet Orange and Chili Pepper (custom blend) - Usually I can't stand orange scents, but there is something about the sweet orange and chili pepper oil that I love. I've seen lots of Pink Sugar and orange scents so I figured these two would be great together and boy was I right! The sweet, perfume-y notes in Pink Sugar blend surprisingly well with the tart orange scent. After doing this blend, I've been dying to try other Pink Sugar/orange scents. Next on my list to try is CFTKR Pink Sugared Orange Juice. If you have any other favorite PS/orange blends, do let me know =)

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Well folks, that's all for now! I'm actually now finishing up this at home this evening as it took me a lot longer to write than I thought! I hope you all are having a great day and I'll see you all soon =)

Wax Meltdown - 4/14/2013 to 6/15/2013

Hi everyone!! I'm finally back with a wax reviews post!! I started a full-time job this past week and I'm still in school and I just haven't had the time to blog lately as I would like. Because I had SO MUCH to review today, I figured the quickest way for me to get through all of these melted reviews was to film a video! Now, I normally don't post my YouTube videos here but I figured since reviewing what I have melted is part of my normal blogging routine, I would post it here in case any of my readers would like to see what I've been melting these past few months!

Since I'm still in the beginning stages of balancing life, work and school, I haven't had as much time to read blogs and keep in touch with my wax community friends these past few weeks but I promise I'm still here and things will be getting back to normal soon once I get back into a regular routine. I can't wait to see what you all have been up to! My wax ban is going incredibly well and I am super proud of myself for sticking to it. I am liking my new job a lot and I am getting ready to graduate at the end of this semester, so that is exciting as well. 

Without further ado, here is my melted wax reviews video!! I'm so glad to have this done so I can finally clear out my melted bin and start fresh! Grab some coffee and snacks y'all, it's a long one =)

Thanks everyone for reading and I'll see you all soon! Hope you all have a fantastic weekend <3

Lasting Scent Candles Haul - Cold Sniff Reviews

Hey my lovely waxy friends! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend! I'm on day three of my wax ban and it's going swimmingly.Today I made the order that I allowed myself for June, Candles from the Keeping Room. I knew she was going to open today so I was prepared that this order would be placed early on in the ban. I'm happy to say that I was able to snag every single scent I wanted and I even came in $7 under budget! Woohoo! Anyways, today I am here to share with you a haul from one of my ultimate favorite vendors, Lasting Scent Candles!

LSC seems to have followed suit with most of the other popular vendors these days and only opens up for a short amount of time and then has to close because they get flooded with orders. They opened up this time on Mother's Day (May 12th) and then closed up again a few short hours later. I'm so glad my friend Shelby texted me to let me know they were open, otherwise I would have had no idea because I was at my parents' house celebrating Mother's Day! I quickly bolted into their office and hastily placed my order. I had no list planned or anything, so I pretty much just put whatever in my cart and I ended up with a bit of a random selection. I would have loved to have purchased multiples of several of these, but as you can't adjust the totals from the cart, I just didn't have time. Oh well! Lesson learned, and next time I'll definitely have my list ready and put all the quantities I want in my cart upfront.

LSC was anticipating to go over their normal TAT of 21 business days for this opening, but I was pleasantly surprised when I saw a shipping notice in my e-mail after only 10 business days!! How awesome is that?! Pam is really cranking out the orders! Despite the growing pains that LSC has been facing these days, they will always be a favorite. They have AMAZING tarts, AMAZING customer service and they always let their customers know their expected TAT with individual e-mails! There is only one other vendor that I know of that sends out e-mails with a customized TAT estimate. I would love to see other vendors follow suit in that aspect.

Overall, I was pleased with this order! I am starting to tire a bit of fruity scents these days so I wish I would have gotten more bakery but you really just can't go wrong with anything made by LSC. Their blends are amazing, their tarts are absolutely packed with fragrance oil an are among the strongest I've ever tried. Without further ado, here's what I ordered. Enjoy =)

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• Sweet Dreams - This is a blend of lavender, Pink Sugar and marshmallow. I am the hugest fangirl of LSC's lavender scent. It is a sweet lavender without having that dreaded laundry note to it that I can't stand. Their lavender is one of the only lavenders that I can tolerate these days as it seems so many vendors tend to use that laundry lavender scent. Yuck! Anyways, this is SUCH an awesome blend! I can smell the Pink Sugar and lavender equally, with a nice sweet, creamy background from the marshmallow. I do not melt tarts while I sleep but I love melting these kind of scents in the evening to help me unwind after a particularly stressful day. 
• Lavender Cotton Candy - This was on of their new scents for this opening. It is a blend of lavender and cotton candy, no surprise there! As cotton candy does tend to be a lighter scent, the lavender is dominant here but I still get a really nice, sweet undertone of the cotton candy. I think if there was just a tiny bit more cotton candy in this one it would be perfect, but I still really like this one. It's very unique in that I don't believe I have any other lavender and cotton candy blends in my stash! 
• Harmony - Another new blend. This one is lavender, lemon zest and coconut. I really like this one! The coconut note sticks out the most to me in this blend, and then you get the sweet lemon and floral background of the lavender. It almost has a touch of bakery sweetness to it. Another unique lavender blend that I've never seen before!
• Island Relaxation - This is an old favorite that I have repurchased a few times now. It is a blend of lavender and sweet coconut milk. The two notes blend equally here to create the absolute best lavender/coconut scent I've ever smelled. I swear, LSC's lavender goes with anything and everything! It's the perfect lavender for blending. Anyways, this is a blend that I will order again and again from LSC.
• Lavender Fairy Cakes - Yes, another lavender blend. I told you I couldn't get enough of their lavender =) This is yet another repurchase for me! It is a blend of lavender, yellow cake and buttercream. It is a super sweet bakery lavender scent, and while the lavender is a bit stronger, the bakery notes blend nicely with the lavender note so that it doesn't overpower them. It reminds me a lot of my beloved Lavender Pound Cake lotion and perfume I used to get from MMU/MMS Cosmetics back in the day! (Anyone remember them?) 

• Lemon Coconut Angel Cake - All of the following 5 scents in this picture are all new blends for the summer. Sometimes lemon and coconut scents smell really odd together, but this blend is pretty fantastic! The lemon stands out to me a bit more but there's definitely a hefty helping of the coconut in this blend as well. I don't specifically smell any cake-y notes but I'd say this has an overall bakery feel to it. Really scrumptious! 
• Lemon Cream Soda - This is a really good scent too. I don't really smell much of a cream soda note, but I do get a nice sweet lemon from it. I can't wait to melt this one to see if the cream soda note comes out a bit more. Maybe it's just one of those lighter scents that you can't really pick out on its own but lends a nice sweet note to any blend it's in. We shall see! Still a great scent, whether I can smell the cream soda or not. 
• Lemon Scoop - This is a blend of Lemon Ice Box Pie, vanilla ice cream and a cookie crust. To me, this smells like lemon blended with ice cream scoop bread! I've been on an ICSB kick lately so I was super excited about this one. Whether or not it actually is ICSB, it pretty much smells like lemon ice cream in a waffle cone. Very nice and perfect for the summer! 
• Peaches & Cream - I am currently in the middle of a love/hate relationship with peach scents. I used to LOVE every single peach scent but lately I've found that the super sweet ones smell weird to me when melting. Luckily, this one has that fresh and realistic peach note that I still love! This is not a stock peaches and cream oil, it is actually blended in-house by LSC with two different vanillas. Luckily, the vanillas in this aren't too sweet at all. In fact, I smell a hint of VBN in here which is a great blending vanilla without being too sweet. I am excited to melt this one! 
• Peach Sorbet - Sadly, this one has that overly sweet peach scent in it that I just don't really care for these days. The description says it is a blend of Georgia peach, vanilla ice cream and sugar. I think it is the Georgia peach oil that a lot of vendors use that I don't like. I'll definitely be passing this one onto a new home!

• Strawberry Rock Candy - The rock candy blends are all new for the summer and I've gotta say, they aren't my favorite. Their rock candy scent is just described as "sugar crystal rock candy," but I smell a bit of cotton candy and some other kind of powdery candy sweetness. The rock candy scent itself is pretty light and doesn't really stick out in 2 of the 3 blends I purchased. However, I can definitely smell the rock candy in this strawberry blend. Rock candy blended with strawberry here actually smells a lot like the strawberry passion scent that a lot of other vendors have. I like it but it's not a favorite. I like both of the other strawberry scents I got much better!
• Strawberry Wedding Cake - I LOVE this one! They have one of the best strawberry scents around. This blend is described as white cake with strawberry filling, frosting and more strawberries on top. It's such a sweet, sugary strawberry scent that almost smells like strawberries and cream but with an added bakery note. This is definitely going to be a repurchase the next time I place an order. It is pure awesomeness. 
• Strawberry Fields - Another repurchase, this is just their plain strawberry scent that they seem to use in all of their strawberry scents. Oh my GAWDDDDD it is such an amazing strawberry scent! It is right up there with CFTKR's Fresh Picked Strawberry. It is a strawberry that has that artificial, almost milky sweetness but with a touch of a fresh, authentic green stem note. Incredible! If you're a fan of strawberry scents and you've never tried this one, you absolutely must!
• Serendipity Confetti - Believe it or not, I'm kind of burnt out on Serendipity these days but I knew I'd regret it if I didn't get a couple blends. Being that I'm really into bakery scents lately, I wanted to get one that had a strong bakery note to it. This one is a blend of Serendipity, sweet candy and candied almonds. I get an almond cookie note, and since almond blends so naturally with the cherry notes in Serendipity, it makes for a really fantastic blend. Love it! 
• Serendipity Rock Candy - I can't really smell the rock candy scent in this at all. To me, it pretty much smells like Serendipity with the slightest hint of powdery sweetness. Meh. I got one of these in my RTS order and passed that one on in my RR and I think this one might find a new home as well. It's not bad but I have so many other Serendipity blends that I love much more than this one. I think I'm the only one not really loving the rock candy blends because most people seem to really love them! 

• Caramel Drizzle Cookies - This is another new scent and probably one of my favorites of the entire order! Lately I can't get enough cookie and caramel scents, I don't know why. Maybe I fruited myself out HAHA. Anyways, this is an awesome blend of caramel and butter cookies. Simple but awesome!! I have a ton of caramel/butter cookie blends in my stash right now but this one has jumped to the top of my list for sure. 
• Coconut Flan - I got this as a sample in my last order and I had to order it this time around because it was so good! This scent is the perfect balance between caramel and coconut. I've smelled a few other coconut/caramel scents that were on the lighter side but this one is nice and strong. True love in a tart! 
• Coco Mango Splash - This one I'm on the fence about. It's a really, really sweet mango scent. Almost too sweet for me. I like my mango scents to be a bit more on the fresher side than the super sweet side. I think this one might be getting a new home as well. My husband really likes this one though so maybe I'll keep it for him. We shall see!
• Coco Lime Cookies - This is another new scent and a surprise favorite of the order! I'm super picky with my lime scents but this one is absolutely fantastic. It is described as a blend of coconut sugar wafers and lime coconut creme. Perhaps because the coconut cookie note is blended with a coconut lime scent instead of just a straight up lime scent, the coconut is able to take center stage. I'm a huge fan of this one and I'll definitely be getting more in my next LSC order!
• Carnival Cakes - This is a blend of vanilla cake, cotton candy and marshmallow. It's very, very light but I can definitely smell all three notes in the blend. Marshmallow and cotton candy scents tend to be very light scents so it's not a surprise that it is so light. Hopefully with a bit more cure time it will be stronger when melted. It's definitely good but not a favorite.

• Pink Sugar Buns - Another repurch! LSC does pink bakery blends so well! It is described as a blend of Pink Sugar and "the aroma of walking into your favorite bakery." To my nose, it smells like a blend of Pink Sugar, donuts and a slight hint of zucchini bread. It's so yummy! It kind of reminds me of FP's Ultimate Bakery and RG's Simply Amazing Bakery but without the apple pie note. I don't really like those blends but I really like this one! 
• Pink Marshmallow Shortbread - Yet another repurchase of a favorite. This is a sweet bakery Pink Sugar blend. I can definitely smell the sugary marshmallow and the crunch from the shortbread blended with the Pink note. So good. If you're at all into Pink bakery blends, this is a must-try for sure. 
• Candy Land Dreamin' (x12) - This was an LE scent for the holidays last year and I fell in love with it! It is a blend of peppermint, lavender and vanilla. I have since tried to find a suitable peppermint/lavender replacement and none have even come close to this one! I was down to my last tart of this and I contacted the lovely ladies at LSC and they informed me that you can custom order a 12-pack in discontinued scents as long as they still have they oils in stock. They did and so I did! This is such a wonderful, relaxing blend. I can smell the lavender and peppermint equally and the vanilla adds a subtle sweetness that pulls it all together. I'm so glad to be stocked up on a favorite scent! I probably will share several of these as I don't know that I need all 12 of them....or maybe I do =)
• Sapphire Rock Candy - This is their blueberry and rock candy blend, which  is weird because all I smell with this one is grape! I have to say though, my nose seems to be very sensitive to grape because I always pick up even the slightest grape note in scents. I know a lot of people love this blend though so it's probably just my nose. Since I don't really care for grape scents, I'm torn on keeping this one or sending it along to a more loving home. I may melt it though just to see if I get more blueberry from it then. 
• Hawaiian Dreams - This is another new scent that is a blend of coconut, pineapple and plumeria. It smells SOOOOO good! The plumeria is definitely the main note here but the pineapple and coconut add the slightest touch of sweetness. Plumeria is a very sweet floral on its own so it blends really nicely with those fruit notes. It definitely takes me back to our honeymoon in Hawaii! I would have liked the coconut to be a bit stronger but overall I'm quite pleased with this blend. 

And now for the freebies!

• Caramel Layered Torte (freebie) - I'm torn on this one. When I first smelled this scent, I got an overwhelming smell of zucchini bread but as it's cured a bit, the other notes come out more. It is described as sweet pastry, caramel ganache, and vanilla souffle. So yeah. No sign of ZB in the description but I swear it has it in there! It smells like caramel mixed with a very creamy ZB scent. I think I like it but I'll have to melt it to see! 
• Blackberry Lime Rock Candy (freebie) - This one is pretty good! I am pretty iffy with both blackberry and lime scents but they smell good together in this blend. Again, I'm not really getting the rock candy note but I think it's adding a nice overall sweetness to the blend. The blackberry still has a bit of a floral note that blackberry scents tend to have so it's not a favorite, but still really nice!
• Vanilla Ice Cream Cone (freebie) - I was so excited to see this as a freebie because I had wanted to order it but totally forgot to put it in my order. It is a very light scent, but I can smell hints of vanilla ice cream and waffle cones. I'll definitely let this one cure for quite awhile before I melt it. 

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That's all folks! Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you all again soon =)

Kicking Off Summer with a Wax Ban!

Good evening everyone! I hope you are all doing splendidly on this fine Thursday evening. I have always been of the belief that a goal doesn't become a goal and a plan doesn't become a plan until you write it down. I am mostly doing this post to keep myself in check and hold myself accountable, but if you would like to join in with me on this wax ban adventure, please feel free to tag along! Keep in mind, I am going on less than three hours of sleep and the less sleep I get, the more I tend to ramble on. You have been warned.

Anyway, tonight I am here with a post detailing my upcoming wax ban. It has come to the point in my wax career where I need to cut down on buying wax. I have filled our entire coat closet with drawers to organize wax, and it has even started to overflow from there. Even if I continue to destash a good amount of it and melt at a steady pace, I simply will not be able to use my wax in a reasonable amount of time. So, this summer I have made it my goal to focus on using the wax that I have instead of buying more wax. I've attempted wax bans several other times and have failed miserably. This time, I am absolutely, 1000% committed to seeing this wax ban through. In this post, I am going to lay it all out on the line and give you all a glimpse into my plan to get through these next few months. 

First of all, I need to identify what it is that makes ordering wax so much fun for me. Obviously, the number one draw for me is the scents. As long as I can remember, I have been obsessed with fragrance and surrounding myself with products that smell good. Fragrance is a huge stress reliever for me, and not just the so-called aromatherapy scents. A Serendipity birthday cake tart can put me in a good mood any day of the week! Also, I've become intrigued with custom blending fragrances as of late. In the days before an order, I'll often make lists of potential blends that I want to order and will tweak that list for several days or even weeks at a time! That moment where you submit an order that you've been plotting for weeks is such a rush. For me, it's not even so much actually getting the order as it is the anticipation of getting the order.

Fortunately, I can find easy fixes for all of those right here in my stash (or in my pending orders)! The need to surround myself with things that smell good is already taken care of with my massive stash of wax I already have. If I feel the need to smell something new and exciting, I will dig deep at the bottom of my drawers and pull out some things I haven't sniffed in awhile. The desire to concoct new and exciting blends can be satisfied within my stash as well. I need to start doing blends with the tarts that I already have instead of finding the need to buy custom blended tarts when I probably have all of the scents I'm blending in my stash already. And lastly, the rush of waiting for orders is more than taken care of at this point. I currently have 14 outstanding orders that I have not gotten yet. Yes, 14! The unfortunate thing about that is that most of them will be delivered in the next week or so. Luckily, I do have a few orders with longer TAT that I probably will not see until the end of summer so I have those to look forward to. 

However, I have allowed myself 3 orders during the process of my wax ban, roughly one for each month. Seems a bit hypocritical but here's the reason why: the wax world has absolutely exploded in the past couple of months. It has come to the point where certain vendors (pretty much all my favorites, of course) can only stay open for a short period of time, sometimes even only a matter of a few hours. And that short window may be the only time that they end up taking orders for a few weeks or even a few months.  In order to not miss out on those openings, I will allow myself to purchase from 3 select vendors. However, I will be adhering to a strict budget for each purchase. I am hoping that the fact that I will not be ordering from a million different vendors at once will help me appreciate those orders more. 

I have decided not to have an "ounces" goal, meaning that I don't have a specific amount of wax I am trying to melt through during this time. I still have some ongoing issues from the flu that I had last month and some days, I'm still not feeling up to melting as much as I normally would. Besides, it's about to be summer and I won't be home as much anyway so I don't want to set unrealistic goals and then end up being disappointed when I don't reach them. I am just going to melt as much as I reasonably can while still enjoying the scents, and not melt through wax just to melt through it all. 

Enough with the chit chat. Without further ado, I present to you the rules of my wax ban!

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1.  The wax ban begins June 1, 2013 and goes through September 1, 2013. This means that I will not purchase ANY wax during that time, including both candles and tarts, with the following exceptions below. 

2. I am allowed ONE purchase from each of the following vendors during these months: 

• June: Candles from the Keeping Room (budget: $50 including shipping)
• July: Rosegirls (budget: $100 including shipping)
• August/whenever they reopen again late summer: Lasting Scent Candles (budget: $50 including shipping)

3. I must post on this blog every single haul I receive from June 1st through September 1st. No exceptions. I am hoping that writing down everything that I purchase will help me further realize how much wax I really have.

4.  I will not participate in any swaps from June 1st to September 1st UNLESS it is for things I already have (ex. RG chunk swaps). Whenever I am doing a swap with someone, I tend to buy extra in my orders to get them things that they might like. This will help keep my order costs down.

5. I will allow myself to participate in Round Robins during this time if any come about. 

6.  I will only check my Facebook wax groups once a day. That means I will be turning off all Facebook notifications on my phone and will only be checking groups in the evening. As I do have a Round Robin going on right now, I will be checking messages for that purpose but still only once a day for the groups. 

7. I will continue reading my favorite blogs and watching my favorite YouTubers but only to give support to my fellow waxies. I will try my best to not be tempted to order after seeing these posts and videos. This will probably be the most difficult thing for me because I always get so many ideas about what to order based on reviews from other people. 

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And that is that, my friends! I would love to hear any stories of successful wax bans, what worked for you, what didn't work, and whatever else you would like to share. And please do let me know if you would like to join me on this endeavor as well! Of course, you can make up your own rules and whatnot but you know what they say, there's always strength in numbers!

Thanks for stopping by today everyone! I'll be back soon with lots and lots of hauls and melted reviews =) Hope you all have a fabulous rest of your evening!